A Melancholy Death

The prickle of goosebumps upon smooth naked skin,

Ripples of shivers glide through thickened blooded veins,

Pinpricks of fever burning the downy hair on bare arms,

And the wind whistles upon ears heightened by the chill.

**

Breath hovers like smoke shimmering over water,

Little droplets glisten upon the red tip of a frozen nose,

Eyes water and weep at the loss of the warmer weather,

As Mother Nature closes her eyes and puts the world to sleep.

**

If you listen closely you’ll hear the last whisper of fallen leaves,

The snap, crackle and pop heard under foot,

The birds have lost their song and bunker down behind a plumb of feathers,

And the surrender of a forgotten echo fades into the shortened daylight.

**

Morning sunrise foists dewdrops upon delighted gazes,

Authentically pristine landscapes lay barren and bare,

Toes curl under at the first touch of the frozen earth,

Dreaming of a woollen slipper burrowing in the depth of warmth.

**

A finger traces wishes in words on frosted glass panes,

Icy tips burn through the thaw,

Unbidden they turn towards the toasty flames roaring in the fireplace,

As wood smoke delights the constant dripping nose.

**

Silence is the essence of the night,

The sky crystal clear as the moon casts her silver gaze upon frosty landscapes,

A blanket of grey and white patchwork as far as the eye can see,

Beautiful in its pristine nakedness, artfully undressed.

**

The sun withholds its warmth as it disappears over the horizon,

The night settles crisply like a heavy cloak; sodden,

Sound an aching void of tepid imaginings,

While the world patiently waits in hibernation; a recuperating rest.

**

With the release of a final long-held sigh,

Winter has arrived,

There was no fanfare, no goodbye parting,

Just a gentle creak and groan as she settles heavily upon the mantle.

**

There’s a feeling of death, an abandonment,

A feeling of time as it stands still,

A cleansing, a period of stagnation while humanity catches its breath,

A pause — a gift of unmeasurable beauty, a purity frozen in the sublime.